Our recent interviews with storage executives have shown a consistent pattern in strategy. Many installations are committing themselves to a strong server consolidation strategy, and virtualization of storage. The business driver behind this move is to create a more flexible, reliable and cost effective server & storage infrastructure, particularly in the rack-mounted and/or blade Windows, Linux and Unix areas.

Server and storage virtualization projects can be separate and distinct initiatives, each with its own set of business drivers and criteria for success. However coordinating these activities, case studies show, will increase business value. In this case, the sum of the project benefits when implemented together can be greater than the sum of the parts. Both are designed to enhance agility, dynamically apply resources where they are most needed in real time and to automate such processes.

Action Item: CIO and CTOs should clearly articulate the vision of a virtualized server and storage infrastructure, and initiate test and pilot projects to develop the internal skills necessary to integrate the technology implementations.